There wasn't supposed to be any baseball played today on South Capitol Street, but Tuesday's rainout forced this interleague series to extend to this afternoon, which (knock on wood) will be played under excellent weather conditions.

Dan Haren gets the start for the Nationals, looking to build off his stellar outing last week in Atlanta and seeking his third consecutive win. He's opposed by right-hander Doug Fister, perhaps the unsung hero of the Tigers' rotation, entering today 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA.

One change to the Nationals' lineup (aside from the every-other-day catcher thing): Roger Bernadina gets the nod in left field this afternoon. Davey Johnson's rationale: Tyler Moore is struggling, plus he wanted to get Ian Desmond out of the 2-hole and put him back in his more natural No. 6 position in the lineup. Jayson Werth, of course, remains out, though initial reports on the MRI he received on his hamstring today are clean; he's also now on antibiotics to fight a stomach ailment that has left him dehydrated (and perhaps led to hamstring cramps).

I'll have updates throughout the game and then the Instant Analysis, then I'll hang over postgame coverage to Chase while I head up to CSN studios for tonight's episode of "The Baseball Show." A friendly reminder that you can watch the show live at 11 p.m., and there are no conflicts tonight that would preempt it or cause a delayed start, always a relief…

Three straight lefties at the top of the order, instead of swapping Espi's and Bernie's spots. Hope this means that Werth is close and they wanted everyone to get acclimated with their spot, instead of juggling spots in the batting order.

I was a little confused by the lineup, as it appears Mark was- he doesn't usually feel the need to give us Davey's rationale for it. But I looked at the career splits for Span and Bernadina and the gap there isn't that big. And the gap also isn't that big for Fister when it comes to LHBs vs RHBs. Harper of course is another story, but he's Bryce Harper. Enough said. Good enough for Davey, good enough for me.

..continued from previous discussion.peric is fighting last season's battles. Don't worry about it, Eric. Next he'll bring up another one of my old fav's, Chien-Ming Wang. Searching… searching… yeah, I've probably been wrong on others, too. Thing is, none of us can predict the future. All we can go by is the present (and recent past) situation to determine the best course of action.Yes, Avila COULD win the game with a home run or tie it with a double. Yes, he COULD recover from his injuries and get back to his Silver Slugger form, and that moment COULD have happened yesterday after Clippard pitched around Peralta. But right now, he's a .186 hitter and a backup catcher. In terms of relievers walking guys, I admit I'm influenced by a recent podcast (which I WISH I could find and share with y'all) in which a retired closer talked in great detail about his strategy for saving games. In particular, he didn't care about walks, and was entirely willing to walk the bases loaded (with two out), if necessary, to get to a guy he was pretty certain he could dispose of. It was extremely interesting, stats based, and counter to the way fans think. "You don't ever put the tying run on base," was not a mantra for this closer.We as fans tend to project all kinds of possible (negative) endings to situations. Pitchers, if they are good, focus on the best way to get out of the inning without damage, or with minimal damage. Sometimes that means recognizing you are in a hitter's count, that the guy you are pitching to has a pretty good idea what you are going to throw him so he'll be sitting on it, and the next guy is an inferior hitter who is starting with a 0-0 count. Another interesting facet of this pitcher's lecture was how much late-inning relievers can play on a guy's aggressiveness. Peralta can see himself tying the game, Avila can see himself winning it, with high-fives in the dugout and headlines in tomorrow's local paper. You put out the temptation and have a good chance the hitter will bite, whereas earlier in the game the same hitter might be more relaxed and stick with whatever plan he has for the at-bat.

Defensively this is a great lineup, assuming our infield has gotten over its early yips. Maybe Davey just wants to get the shark some ab's. Cabrera is hitting .381 for the season, and .320 lifetime, unreal. Wish I could go, will catch most of it in HD. GYFNG!

If memory serves me right Bernadina hit pretty well last year when in the second spot of the lineup. I know he hasn't hit well this year but he did look better in Pittsburgh after replacing Harper this past Sunday. Some more AB's would be good for him and give Davey the big power hitter (Moore)on the bench that he likes so much.

"Don't worry about it, Eric."Oh, rest assured, there are no worries whatsoever on that front, NatsLady 😉."You put out the temptation and have a good chance the hitter will bite"It looks like that's *exactly* what got Avila in the end. That ball was WAY up there, and he came out of his shoes chasing it, iirc.

NatsLady and Peric arguing. What's funny is NatsLady schooled him big time with some real facts:"Haren has the lowest GB% of our rotation (36.7%). For his career, he's usually about 40%, That's not quite Clippard territory (under 30%), but basically, if you want a guy in there who ain't gonna hit, you want the one in there who can play the outfield. Hence, Bernadina over Moore."

As to Clip's inning last night– those first two guys worked him — he got them, but they saw everything and so did the guys behind them. It had to be stressful and it used up a lot of bullets. By batters three and four, they were just taking all the way, further working and tiring Clip. That's what they do. Clip earned his pay right there, and however it had to happen, so be it. He eventually won the battle , even with them having seen everything, an inconsistent zone and him having to really dig down deep. That was an epic inning.

NatsLady raises good points. Rules of thumb such as "never put the tying run on base" not not 100% iron clad, and are always secondary to "how do I get out of this inning"Here's some amazing out of the box thinking: I heard some commentators talking about how Jim Palmer would even pitch around guys with bases loaded sometimes. Consider this: with bases loaded (which happened 213 times) he had a batting average against of .196, he allowed 13 walks, but — here's the key — never a grand slam.Anyways — so in theory I can see both sides.However — what gives me pause is that Clippard didn't pitch to Avila all that differently than he did to the first two. Actually, the first guy (and there's no reason not to pump him fastballs down the middle) he threw 10 straight pitches out of the strike zone!So, I think what was _really_ going on is that Clippard just lost the strike zone after two were out. (And, didn't Avila strike out on a pitch that should have been ball three? Then it would have been full count two outs two on!)He issued some bases loaded walks in his career — but never

Sec. 3, My Sofa said… As Boz has pointed out, the phrase "never give in" implies there's always a base open, even if it's home plate. Walking in a run is better than giving up a Grand Slam.Yep — amending my prior post — it was Boz where I first learned of Palmer's never giving up a grand slam in his career with respect to just this issue.Thanks!

Thing is, none of us can predict the future. All we can go by is the present (and recent past) situation to determine the best course of action.Using statistics and advanced scouting reports one can come pretty close … albeit any Mathematician requires the "glue" known as one's intuition. Without it there really is no chance.The smarter major league clubs make investment decisions based on the above now-a-days. They are in fact attempting to predict the future while hedging against failure. Rizzo, Clark, Minniti et al can be far more arrogant about it than you deem me Natslady. Look at the dearth of depth they have in the minors at some positions. They just released a very hardworking, great performing pitcher in Trevor Holder from the HBG Senators. He was well thought of and popular to boot? The only rationale was to advance the excellent starting pitching staff that currently resides in Potomac. The first promotion just occurred.Believe me Rizzo and Clark do try to prognosticate about the future on a daily basis.

Prince wears sunglasses, according to FP and Carp, because he says it helps him see the ball better in the lights at night. Don't know about Cabrera, he was holding his hip/side in the dugout, but nothing reported.

NatsLady and Peric arguing. What's funny is NatsLady schooled him big time with some real facts:"Haren has the lowest GB% of our rotation (36.7%). For his career, he's usually about 40%, That's not quite Clippard territory (under 30%), but basically, if you want a guy in there who ain't gonna hit, you want the one in there who can play the outfield. Hence, Bernadina over Moore."More fun with the Marx Brothers: Groucho, Chico and Harpo again. I wasn't arguing the point. I happen to like the Shark. Its the FO that doesn't dude. As for the Shark he has yet to prove he can be a run producer whether in the minors or the majors. A #2 hitter? Sure. In fact I would have preferred they give the Shark a shot over acquiring Span. I tend to like sticking with in-house talent. They deserve the shot more IMO. Tyler Moore is a potential run producer … but yes, his major weakness is his dearth of defensive skill either at first base but especially in the outfield.

peric, that was my exact point (though I was making it in reference to Clip). You use the stats and tendencies of hitters, IMO, in preference to formulas like "never put the tying run on base." Those formulas are fine–in general–but in when you are dealing with actual hitters you need to know. If Clip doesn't, then Suzuki or Cat needs to come out and let him know what to expect, and what a good strategy might be.

Peric said: "Its the FO that doesn't dude."And you know that how?"As for the Shark he has yet to prove he can be a run producer whether in the minors or the majors. A #2 hitter? Sure."Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't the Nats, of late anyways, always thought of Bernadina as a fourth outfielder and not an everyday player?

Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't the Nats, of late anyways, always thought of Bernadina as a fourth outfielder and not an everyday player?Define of late? Why pick NO BAT Ankiel over the Shark in the outfield? Its hard to say perhaps the Shark could be a starter somewhere else. In Houston he would surely be in the lineup everyday. The reason he is the 4th outfield was because they tried him in the starting role and he failed to produce and was returned to the minors on a couple of occasions. He really didn't start producing consistently offensively until Davey Johnson took over.

Cabrera said he had minor back issues after the ground out in the 6th. He was joking with Clip after that foul popup behind the plate in the 8th, so I'm guessing it wasnt too bad. Big game for Haren, should be interesting.

Peric,I was referring to Bernadina as a fourth OF in Washington only, not Houston or elsewhere. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear on that. And I don't recall saying anything about Ankiel so I don't know why you brought that up. My comments were more intended towards your statement that you would have preferred giving Bernie a shot over Span. It is my understanding that the Nats, and by this I mean Johnson and Rizzo, see Bernie as better in a corner OF position especially LF with only occassional time in CF. Span was acquired to be the regular CF and lead off batter, something that Bernie has not appeared to be well suited for in prior years.

"NatsLady said… peric, that was my exact point (though I was making it in reference to Clip). You use the stats and tendencies of hitters, IMO, in preference to formulas like "never put the tying run on base." Those formulas are fine–in general–but in when you are dealing with actual hitters you need to know. If Clip doesn't, then Suzuki or Cat needs to come out and let him know what to expect, and what a good strategy might be."Davey doesn't even like putting a tying run on base when 1st base is open.You can keep trying to support your own theories with more posts and most people here are too polite to tell that you are wrong in last night's situation.I'm sure Boz wouldn't advocate walking 2 batters that are maybe slightly better than league average to get to Avila.

"A DC Wonk said… Here's some amazing out of the box thinking: I heard some commentators talking about how Jim Palmer would even pitch around guys with bases loaded sometimes. Consider this: with bases loaded (which happened 213 times) he had a batting average against of .196, he allowed 13 walks, but — here's the key — never a grand slam."How many of those situations did he have a 3 run lead or more.Each situation calls for smart baseball and they way Storen nibbled in Game 5 ended the 2012 season forever.Clippard was nibbling and wouldn't challenge Dirks. Not sure why. I have no idea but you don't want to walk him. At that part of the game with a 2 run lead his run wasn't going to beat you.

"A DC Wonk said… I'm sure Boz wouldn't advocate walking 2 batters that are maybe slightly better than league average to get to Avila. That's not what she said."That was my take on her morning's posts unless she intelligently deleted. She has since softened her stance to sound a little smarter on the subject.

"Clippard was nibbling and wouldn't challenge Dirks. Not sure why. I have no idea but you don't want to walk him. At that part of the game with a 2 run lead his run wasn't going to beat you."I know. It's so sad that Clip lost the game for us last night. I'm really depressed about it.:(

Hey Eric, how did you feel when Storen did the same approach in Game 5?Someone here wrote recently You play with fire eventually you'll get burned!Yah, Clip keep doing that, oh yah, that's right, he did on April 12th and April 29th and walked 3 in 1 inning and took the loss in the April 29th game.

Thanks, swami and Eric.Haren got off to a good start – giving up a single to Miguel Cabrera is no crime. Now the hitters just need to do their part!I would bet Bernadina is in the lineup because he's had an RBI hit against Fister? Hard to say. It's odd, because righties are hitting him better than lefties this year so far.Fister trivia: he's hit 9 batters with pitches this year so far, most in baseball by any pitcher.

Yah, Clip keep doing that, oh yah, that's right, he did on April 12th and April 29th and walked 3 in 1 inning and took the loss in the April 29th game. All pitchers have had bad outtings. Overall, he's pitched in 14 games, allowed zero runs in 11 of them, and no hits in 9 of them.

I've read that Tigers and White Sox fans were ecstatic when Span left the division, and looking at his track record against Tigers pitching, I can see why. The *lowest* OPS he has against any Tigers starter is Porcello, against whom he has a .786 mark – which is still great. Against Fister he's hitting .350/.381/.500. Kind of amazing.

i have 5 little things that if you don't do the 4 and do the 5th you win most gamesPitchingDon'tWalk lead off manrelievers walk no one.Batters don'tTake a third strike (Especially with RISP)Swing at third strike in the dirt especially with RISP)DoWhen hitting with man on if you make an out at least advance the runner)

"NatsJack in Florida said… I have a strong hunch 3 runs is not going to win this game unless Haren improves his command in the strike zone."A strong hunch? Call Rizzo to tell him to have someone up warming now!

Who is that person inhabiting LaRoche's uniform? In May, surely it is not the same person we saw in April. Is it, lol?Would be nice if he just started the season in May–except then we'd have to wait until June for him to break out, unless it is just the cold weather..

Section 222 said… They will stay a long time tonight before calling this game. No one wants to reschedule a game that's already started. Especially when it's the last game of a road trip (for the Tigers) and they won't be back to DC. (Yes, they'll be back to Balty, but, still, they'd rather get it done now)

i never said send Harper or any othets back to Syracuse for taking strike 3 called with RISP. I said just dont do it. That they have control of. Be like Luke Appling : he would just tap ones on the edges foul. He rarely struck out.

Haren's trot is just the funniest thing to me, I can't help it. I'm very disappointed the clip of his double isn't on the MLB video site.Weather is very strange at the park, if you're not watching – both fairly heavy rain and bright sun on the field today.They've apparently pulled Fister from the game after 74 pitches over 3 innings. Be interesting to see who they put in.

"SCNatsFan said… I am really liking this guy who stole Dan Haren's jersey"He just had to come with grips with the aging process and the fact he could only throw low 90's by muscling up.He's much better as a crafty righty.

He just had to come with grips with the aging process and the fact he could only throw low 90's by muscling up.Announcers were saying just the opposite — that he felt strong and healthy this year, and was throwing his sinker too hard. When he dialed it back a bit, it started working for him again.

"Manassas Nats' Fan said… 7 hits first 2 innings then everyone basically quit 1 hit in 3 innings."They don't quit, come on. Some of the batters change their approach and try much harder to power up. A lot of ugly at bats.

They hit the ball where it was pitched before. Now pulling outside pitches.That is poor coaching. outside pitches drive the other way. Pulling is useless.I need to look up Tyler Moore strike out percentage. he might be the worse on the team now.

Tyler is a player who I think needs more regular playing time. I would not be opposed to sending him back down to AAA for a bit, but I'm not sure who down there would be a good callup. Rendon needs to play too.

Speaking of practicing bunting, maybe ALR should do a little of that. There are just too many situations where the shift concedes a base hit to him if he can do that. Facing a lefty in the 8th, it sure would have been nice if he had put a runner in scoring position for Desi. Um, pretty good effort by Ty-Mo not good enough.

Soriano will have to face the top of the order. If anyone reaches, he'll have to face Prince Fielder – who, in their limited encounters, owns him to a remarkable degree. So Soriano really needs to not let anyone reach base….Valverde's goatee. My goodness.